A federal jury will begin deliberations to decide the fate of a former leader of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine.

Robert L. Newell was the governor of the tribe's Indian Township reservation. Federal prosecutors accuse him of misusing $1.7 million in federal and tribal funds.

The trial began November 3. Newell, 65, testified in his defense and said he shifted tribal money around to pay tribal bills and help individual tribal members.

“I didn’t do it to be popular,” Newell said, The Bangor Daily News. “I did it to help those people.”

Also charged is James J. Parisi Jr., the tribe's former business manager.

Get the Story:
Deliberation to begin on former tribal governor (The Bangor Daily News 11/18)

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